At least three important aspects are relevant in the current debate related to the South China Sea dispute. These are security, internal politics and anti-American policy, the last in particular by the Chinese government.

This is understandable by the fact that United States President Barack Obama's current policy toward China has been aggressive in many ways. Admittedly, both the United States and China have various economic, security and political interests in the South China Sea.

I have regularly mentioned the importance of a political geographic approach in understanding the South China Sea dispute. The central debate in the dispute looks attractive now after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte bravely insulted Obama as a "son of a whore" some weeks ago.

Although Duterte, through his spokesman, later clarified the statement and apologized to Obama, it is clear that Manila is moving towards closer ties with Beijing.

This assessment is backed by the fact that Duterte has urged the US military to leave the Southern Philippines, and by a report in the Wall Street Journal some days ago that "Duterte would dismiss military patrols alongside the US Army in the South China Sea to avoid upsetting Beijing."

We know that Southeast Asian countries, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, have political, economic and social interests in the South China Sea. And since the world is now divided into two big economic blocks – the United States and China – it is not surprising that the Philippines under Duterte has been trying to strengthen its relations with China.

So the next questions are: What is the Indonesian government's position toward the South China Sea dispute and the "silent" conflict of interest between the United States and China? And what should the Indonesian government's position be on the South China dispute? How should Indonesia accommodate the interests of the world's two biggest powers without neglecting our national interests?

Indonesia's Position

In its foreign policy objectives, Indonesia has clearly indicated that it stands for a free and active platform, so that a balance between the interests of the United States and China is needed without negatively impacting on our sovereignty. It represents so-called soft power by implementing a cultural and also a technical approach to maintain our interests in the South China Sea.

Firstly, we know President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo favors diplomacy, so his background as a businessman has therefore resulted in a dynamic leadership style. This is an advantage for Indonesian foreign policy, particularly when the country has to be the balancing power between the varied interests of the countries in the Southeast Asia region. So I am confident that Jokowi's leadership style would make Indonesia's position politically and technically vital in finding a solution to the South China Sea dispute.

Secondly, the Indonesian government's current maritime policy should prioritize the usage of space and place in the archipelago. Ensuring that every single area, especially the outer islands, are occupied and empowered by its people. However, while this is not an easy task, maritime policy must be integrated to harmonize the security and economic aspects.

In the globalized and regionalized world of today, a technical approach to maximizing the policy on space and place is necessary for maintaining a country's sovereignty, particularly for an archipelago such as Indonesia.

Finally, it is not an easy task to deal with the more intensified conflicts nowadays, but Indonesia should be in front as the leading country to create a better and more peaceful world.

Arizka Warganegara is a political analyst from the University of Lampung and a Ph.D. candidate in political geography at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo’s second cabinet reshuffle a few days ago has left a few questions unanswered, especially when two former senior ministers were unexpectedly called back. Former Soeharto strongman General Wiranto returned as Chief Security Minister and former finance minister under Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's presidency, Sri Mulyani, was reinstalled in the same post she left six years ago.

On the surface, Jokowi's cabinet shake-up looks like it was intended to improve the performance of the economic and maritime affairs ministries. In the last few months, the president has hardly disguised his dissatisfaction with both coordinating ministries and had hinted that some personnel changes were inevitable. And now, he's made good on his words.

Non-political appointments like Sri Mulyani and Archandra Tahar add to the increasingly long list of industry professionals appointed to Jokowi’s cabinet. Whether or not they can lift their respective ministries' performance remains to be seen.

But what the public wants to know more is the political horse trading — or as we say it in Indonesia, "cow trading" — behind the latest reshuffle. Suffice it to say, this round of reshuffle has knocked some doubts on Jokowi’s political leadership for six. Jokowi is the skipper of his team, leave no doubt about that.

Previously, many speculated there were at least three shadowy puppet masters running things in Jokowi’s administration: Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri — who brought Jokowi the presidency — and his old Chief Security Minister Luhut Panjaitan.

The latest cabinet reshuffle shows clearly who is the real man in charge of the cabinet: the president. It is also clear that the latest shake-up of the cabinet was also done to satisfy the demands of the president's new coalition of parties, though Jokowi seemed to have managed to flex his muscles to in this regard, with some parties being left befuddled to work out if they have lost more than they have gained.

Cabinet shake-up works to Jokowi's advantage

Having secured the backing of the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Golkar Party in his new coalition, Jokowi could be excused for thinking that he might finally be able to get his cabinet to work full bore to reach the goals of his much-promoted nine-pronged structural reform program, the "Nawacita."

Both parties have now been given seats in the cabinet, though Jokowi seems to have flummoxed Golkar with his choice of Airlangga Hartarto — by all accounts not a popular figure in Golkar — as minister of industry.

Rushing to get his new ministers to work, Jokowi dragged them to their first plenary meeting barely hours after they were sworn in, The president's messages were clear: avoid conflict, focus on work (as he always says, "work, work, work") and create strong synergy between the ministries.

The team must come first, Jokowi seems to say. Outspoken and controversial ministers like Rizal Ramli, Yudi Chrisnandi and Ignatius Jonan were not team players and that's why they must go. In Rizal's case, people could be forgiven for thinking that his string of verbal attacks on his own colleagues might have just been too much for the quintessential soft-spoken Javanese in Jokowi.

There is also the future to look forward to — specifically 2019, when the next presidential election will take place. Jokowi needs a government that works and that the public likes. And for that, he needs to make compromises with his coalition of parties while at the same time getting enough people on his side to push through with his populist agenda.

Now we know where the Nawacita will lead us to: a second term for the real, beloved puppet master of the people, President Jokowi.

Arizka Warganegara is a political analyst and a PhD Candidate in Political Geography at the University of Leeds.